Video of New Research Conducted with PlayStation Eye

Most of you probably already know about the launch of the PlayStation Eye, and hopefully you’re as excited as we are here in PlayStation R&D. By the time products launch, our contribution is usually long past, but this time we wanted to join the fun. So we thought we’d give you an exclusive first glimpse at some of our new research that uses PS Eye.

We grabbed our lab camcorder and filmed some tech demos created by newcomer Anton Mikhailov (he’s the guy playing games in the videos). Anton has been using PS Eye to let users add their own content into games. So far, he’s focused on simple, familiar games (like lunar lander and tank battle) that he can code for PS3 in a day or so. These games are pretty old school, but they become amazingly fun again when you get to add your own content. And when the PS3 adds physics to your content, things become even more fun! (why does everyone keep mentioning Little Big Planet?)

Check out the videos. We filmed them without cuts so you could see how easy it is to add your own content.

Note that these are tech demos, not products. We just wanted to let you see one of our crazy ideas of how the PS Eye might be used in the future. Anton or I will be answering questions, so let us know what you think!

Thank you very much for the fast reply. To add, if I might, what would it take to get a presentation of this technology and the development process behind it at a game development school? Do you have a student out reach program?

Really great stuff here. What you did for now is already good and i could see the tank demo being released as a full product. Anyway, the final part of the video, when everyone was digitalizing their own stuff and the part where the tanks were battling in the middle of everyday objects reminded me of… Micro Machines!!

I’m guessing with things the way they are now, it wouldn’t be very difficult to draw a track and have 4 cars driving around. The only things missing would be a lap counter and position check. Hell, if someone digitalized a toy tank, one could even do the same with Hot Wheels cars or something lol.

I just watched the second video, where items are scanned to screen, then ‘drop out’ to the bottom of the screen, with what looks like real physics. AMAZING. The technology is excellent, but its all about finding the right game. Mini-games are fun (Wii Sports) but maybe the technology could be used to compliment a ‘full’ game.

Some kind off (hate to say this archaic phrase) virtual-reality game. Where control is with a game pad but also where player has to ‘put’ objects into the game.

Or emulate the controls seen in the Tom Cruise film Minority Report. Okay there isnt a 3D control panel, but the control panel/ visual feedback could be bought up on a tv screen, and the player could use it to access information/ solve a puzzle etc. Maybe it could be added to PS3 online game ‘The Agency.’

All I can say is…………..WOW
TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!
If you guys can do it, please release those “demos” as a PSN downlodable game ASAP. How cool would it be to “drive” like, a calculator around and blow stuff up with it? (You know you want to…….)
Also, if you can do it, I’d appreciate if you guys would make a small devkit to allow amateur programmers such as myself some freedom of expression. (And also give us an opportunity to put our hours of torturous physics classes to good use.)
Anyway, even if you can’t do the devkit thing, MAKE MORE GAMES!!!!

I am trying to make stop motion animation with my snapshots in Eyecreate, like you guys demoed here in the blog (of some kids racing through the office)-

Is there a way to decrease the default 2 second time designation for snapshots when placed into the Eyecreate timeline? Because 2 seconds make the animation of course very slow and choppy, you have to manually snip each clip and delete the excess for EVERY snapshot, it is very frustrating!

@216: Those are games that Sony has been selling on the EU store for nearly a month already. I have no idea why they’re holding them hostage from us US Eye of Judgment/PS Eye owners. It’s retarded really.

has anyone else network been acting weird on the Ps3? there isn’t a store update, none of the thumbnails come up in the Psn and when i load warhawk it turns the net off and when i exit it comes back on

I can’t wait to see what kind of games you develop with this. If you somehow get a game out from this tech demo, make sure that there’s a record function of some sort, so that we can post these as videos to the PS Network somehow, so we can see the best creators!

It looks so much fun to work at R&D. I suppose this is the best job in the world. This is why I like Sony. No matter what it is you guys are developing, it always works! I want Tank Battle! Pretty please…
Cheers guys keep it up!

Oh man that’s soo amazing and even one more reason to get a PS3. Scanning things in so easy that’s awesome and even use them for create games by your own or edit existing games…
I can’t want till Xmas anymore I need the PS3 so bad…
This will be the sweetest Christmas ever :-)

Have multiple colored stickers (or some other tiny, colored and shaped visible marker). Each specific combo of shape and color represents a certain motion. Say you have a 2D drawing of a character. You put color+shape markers on his elbows, kness, shoulders, etc. (any joint or area of movement) to give the motion you want.

Scanning it in could be of the character first, then of the character and the markers on him, so the areas the sticker covers up won’t be invisible or left out.

This could be for anything, and you could extend it further, with more complex MotionMarkers. A triangles base is where the motion stops, and the point of it is where it closes, like say an elbow moving. The flat side of the triangle is facing the outside of the elbow, the pointy side, pointing in (at the body) is where the arm rotates at. so it moves like you would if you bent your arm up to your pecs from being in a straight, to the body, position.

OR

A gears game. where on screen, you have and start/object on one side, and a finish/objects destination on the other. You have to draw gears, chains, etc. to move the object. But you also have to add motion to the gears and chains you draw.

OR

You have a maze, going north, south, east, and west. You must send an object through the maze, to the end, where the objects destination is. To get through the maze, you must draw contraptions (physics enabled objects, like a see-saw, a spring board that can face up, left, and right, etc) to move your object to the end. But throughout each level, before you start, you are told to which contraptions you can use/draw, which expands as the levels progress and also get harder, so you’ll need to use each new contraption in each level.

Whaddya think? You can contact me if the small chance you like my ideas. I do. lol. Tell me what you think gEyes

Granted he’s using a SmartBoard to interact directly with the drawing and move the shapes around, but the concepts are similar to what you’re experimenting with.

A key point (imho) is that the MIT program uses special symbols to represent properties of the object – an “x” anchors the object to the backround, a down arrow indicates gravity, curly lines indicate springs, etc.

There’s a game called Desktop Tower Defense, I think a version for the PS Eye would be really great fun! Maybe you want to check it out! (I don’t have anything to do with the authors, I just enjoy playing it.)

Any plans to have an public beta of this? Really amazed on what you guys did with the eye, this would be one hell of a party game. Surprised that the eye can mange something this complexed, and more surprised that you guys can code something like this.